One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant astilbe in Shelbyville can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

Frost tolerance for astilbe:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since astilbe do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Shelbyville is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Shelbyville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shelbyville and it is different every year. Half of the time in Shelbyville last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your astilbe if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shelbyville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Shelbyville

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Shelbyville.